JaxBandster

Had my lap band removed on Thursday, March 29th. My procedure seems to have gone pretty smoothly. I wasn't nervous at all. Didn't have any nausea. My surgeon said that everything looked the way he anticipated it would look. He placed a drain in my stomach which was a bit of a surprise. I wasn't expecting that. He said it was a last minute decision on his part. Now I have to figure out how to deal with that while at work. They took me down on Friday morning for my leak tests. They said everything looked fine but it took until 7:00 for my surgeon to let me know it was okay for me to drink. Then I had to drink a certain amount within a couple of hours before he would let me go home. I drank what I was supposed to, was discharged around 11:00, then we had to run around getting perscriptions filled. I was really tired by the time I got home. My only real complaint is the dry mouth I get while I'm sleeping. I don't have a lot of pain, just soreness. Oh, I gained 10 lbs in the hospital!!!!!! It's beginning to go down slowly but they really kept me hydrated! LOL So basically, the band removal seems to have been a lot easier than having it placed. Now I need to work towards getting my sleeve. My surgeon has said that if I had another band placed that I would more than likely erode again and I certain don't want to have to do this again. Onward and upward!

Time for an update. I went last week for my pre-op appointment with my surgeon and the first thing I was told was that Shands had cancelled the operating block for my surgeon and that I would have to wait weeks and maybe months for another date unless I wanted to speak with my surgeon's partner and have the surgery at another hospital (which happens to be a local Bariatric Center of Excellence). I figured what the hell and opted to speak with him to see if I liked him. Well, I didn't like him. I LOVED him! I have spoken with four surgeons in the past six months and he is the first one to ever take the time to go into explilcit detail about how my band eroded and then exactly what he will need to do when he removes it. When I asked him which revision surgery he would recommend, he said he wouldn't recommend anything until he got inside to see what kind of damage the band has done. The one thing he was completely adament against was me having any procedure that involved getting another band. He said that in all likeihood, I would erode again. I just love this guy. He is very thorough, a perfectionist (he spent 30 minutes fixing the information in my chart) and he and I are very much on the same page. So I am still scheduled for this Thursday the 29th at Memorial Hospital and I'm ready to get this thing done. I'm sure I will write about my experience once I get home and in bed so others can have something to guage their upcoming surgeries with. I know that reading about everyone else's experiences sure helps me. See you after surgery!

Hi Denise, My understanding is that erosions are rare and that no one really knows why one person erodes and another one doesn't. Some say it is because the band was filled too quickly and/or too tightly. Some say that it is due to some sort of non-compliance by the patient. No one really seems to know for sure. My own personal theory is that some people (like myself) may not like to have foreign objects in their bodies. I have had several piercings over the years besides my ears. All of them either tried to migrate (erode) out of my body or would never heal. Is my body one of those who doesn't accept foreign objects well? (Like someone who receives a transplant rejecting?) I don't really know. It's just a hypothesis. Nevertheless, it does give me some hesitation when considering another lapband. I figure the best course of action is to see what the surgeon sees when he removes my current band and decide from there.

Denise, I believe I had the large Allergan band. In answer to your other question, yes, the banded plication combines two procedures. The plication of the stomach which is basically folding it in on itself to form a sleeve and then stitching the seam without actually cutting the stomach. You get the benefit of the sleeve without removing 80% of the stomach. Then they place a lap band on top of that. The theory is that due to the reduced capacity of the stomach, you have immediate restriction. They do not have to fill the band as frequently nor as quickly as a result. I have read some patients that have had no fills and are quite satisfied with the restriction that the plication and unfilled band offers. Since they do not have to fill the band as quickly and as frequently to achieve restriction, this reduces the instances of slippage and erosion. My only concern is what happens if my body just doesn't like the band and it erodes again? If this were my first surgery, I would probably due to the banded plication in a heartbeat. But this is probably my last surgery so it needs to be the right one!

I want to thank everyone who has had this surgery for their posts! I am having my band removed due to erosion and am currently in the research phase of trying to decide between the sleeve and banded plication. I like the sound of banded plication but am so afraid of having a repeat erosion and then being unable to revise to the sleeve. My understanding is that slippage and erosion are greatly reduced with banded plication as they do not have to fill the band as frequently and as tightly as they do with the band by itself. It makes sense to me and the thought of not cutting my stomach is very appealing. I just want to make sure that whatever I do is successful because this will probably be my last opportunity to do this.

So far it is covering the removal of the band and it supposedly will cover revision due to erosion. Time will tell!

Well after many months and many ups and downs I finally have a date to have my eroded lap band removed. March 29th is the big day!!!!!!!!!!! I will have my surgery VERY early in the morning and will stay overnight to make sure there is no leaking from the repaired area of my stomach. Hopefully, if all goes well, in two months I will revise to either the sleeve or banded plication. There is much to consider with both of these procedures and the positives and negatives are pretty well balanced. I have read good and bad things about both procedures. Right now though, I'm just going to focus on getting the band removed and see what kind of damage it's done. So far I have felt no effects other than an occasional pull or tug or momentary pain in the area just below my sternum. I still have some minimal restriction due to there being a plastic ring in the middle of my stomach but I can pretty much eat anything I want and have been. I figure that eventually I will have the tool necessary for me to succeed so I might as well enjoy myself while I can even though the weight gain is making me feel miserable physically. I can't wait to be thin again. Weird how the mind justifies things. If I couldn't eat another cheeseburger tomorrow it wouldn't bother me, but since I can I do! Ugh. I'm definitely ready to get back on track. Let's get this party started!

I went to the surgeon who originally placed my lap band today to talk about the surgery I need to have to remove it due to erosion and subsequent revision surgery. I had my head completely reconciled with having vertical sleeve revision and then he threw in a new option. For the past year, he has been doing banded plication surgery. In my particular situation, due to the erosion, we would do the surgery to remove my band first, give my stomach time to heal, and then I would have a second surgery to revise to the banded plication. For those of you who are not familiar with this procedure, it involves folding the stomach in on itself and stitching it to achieve a sleeve like effect. This is a similar procedure to the old stomach stapling procedure but much more effective due to technique and the usage of sutures as opposed to staples. Then, he will place another band at the top of the sleeve thereby essential having two weight loss surgeries at one time. My understanding is that the plication is better for achieving immediate weight loss, the band is better for long term weight loss. Combining them is essentially the best of both worlds with a few added benefits. First, because you have restriction from the plication, you don't have to fill the band as fast or as much in order to achieve satisfactory restriction. Second, because of the more slender shape of the stomach, incidences of slippage are greatly reduced. Third, there is no need to dissect 90% of your stomach. Fourth, if you do have a problem with the band, it can be removed and you will still have restriction from the plication. As always, there can be complications. Sutures can come undone. There can be necrosis of the upper part of the stomach right below the band. My understanding is that so far, the complication rate is extremely minimal and weight loss results have been comparable to the sleeve. I have to admit that the thought of not having to cut my stomach is appealing to me. At the same time, the thought of putting in another band after my first one eroded is a little unnerving. My surgeon is not pressuring me to do either one. He wants me to do what I'm comfortable with but he is very excited about the results he has seen with this surgery. I am 52 and this is more than likely my last chance at getting to be where I want to be. This is still considered to be investigational and is not covered by insurance but I believe the majority of the costs will be covered by research study funds. I have complete confidence in my surgeon. He secondary specialties are liver transplants and pediatric surgery and he is always at the cutting edge (pardon the pun) of the latest and greatest bariatric surgeries. I just want to do the right thing for me. My instinct is to let him get in there and take out my band, take a look around and see what kind of damage my band did to my insides. Then, make a more educated decision about which surgery would be right for me. As an aside, he completely refuses to do gastric bypass. What would you do??

For those of you who are having success with the banded plication........ How was your recovery? How soon did you go back to work? Do you follow a low carb diet? Have you had to have any fills in your band? How is your hunger level? How much can you eat before you feel "full"

Hi Leigh, Can you please explain in greater detail how you have been disappointed? Thanks

I got my lapband almost exactly five years ago. I was self pay so did not need to jump through the insurance hoops to prove that it was medically necessary for me to have it although I could have if I had insurance at the time. I wasn't employed but I had come into some money so I could afford to do it self pay. A wonderful thing so I thought at the time. Now my lapband has eroded and I need to have it removed but my insurance is giving me the run around trying to say that I got it for "cosmetic" reasons. I guess if an insurance company doesn't give their blessing that it is medically necessary then they assume that it wasn't. Anyway, I was just wondering if anyone had experienced this before and what the outcome was. I'm terrified that my insurance company isn't going to cover the removal of my band much less the revision surgery to the gastric sleeve that I want just because I was original self pay. Thanks for any input anyone can provide.

For those of you who have had this procedure was it the first time you had bariatric surgery or was it a revision from a prior bariatric surgery?

Thank you for your response. Your statement about the reason you went with the banded plication is my understanding as well. According to the surgeons who are performing this procedure, the combination of the plication with the lap band reduces the instances of slippage or erosion because you do not have to fill the band as much and as rapidly in order to achieve restriction. From my research, one of the reasons erosion happens is from filling the band too quickly in order to achieve restriction which puts pressure on the stomach wall resulting in an abcess which is technically what an erosion is. I'm still doing my research and won't be making any rash decisions. I appreciate everyone's input as long as it is fact based or first person experience.

Hi Bert, I had absolutely no outward symptoms other than the fact that I could a lot more than I should have been able to eat despite having an almost full band. It has been almost exactly four years since I had my band so my doctor thought it might be a good idea to do an upper GI and make sure everything was working as it should. Imagine my surprise when I watched the contrast Fluid I drank go down my esophagus and not only go through the stoma but also around the outside of my band! The only way that could happen is if the band was now inside of my stomach. We made a subsequent appointment for me to have an upper endoscopy which confirmed the erosion. The only restriction I have right now is because I have a tissue covered band of plastic running through the middle of my stomach. Needless to say I have some reservations about getting another one even in conjunction with the plication.

I am hoping that if I provide sufficient evidence that I met the medical necessity requirements originally that they will approve the removal. I may have to jump through all the hoops again to get approval for the revision but I'm ready to do what is necessary. My original surgeon should still have all the documentation and now that I think about it, I might have something here at the house as well. Going to go look. I posted the images of my endoscopy on another forum. Not sure they will allow them here as they are quite graphic and the pro banders might get upset with me. I can guarantee that if anyone considering getting a lap band were to see them they would have serious second thoughts.

Thank you for the reply, I'm sorry to hear that your insurance company wouldn't cover your surgery. My insurance company's issue is that since I was self pay, they have no way of knowing if my band was medically necessary. I was 277 lbs at the time with a 40 BMI and sleep apnea. I would have qualified if I had gone through insurance but I didn't have to because I had the funds to pay cash due to an inheritance. The insurance company says if the surgery wasn't medically necessary that they would consider it to be cosmetic and they do not cover complications from cosmetic surgery even if those complications are life-threatening. So as it turns out, I may have to prove medical necessity for a surgery that I had five years ago in order to get it reversed and then quite possibly, have to reprove medical necessity to get the revision to the sleeve. They're making me crazy!!!!!!

Thanks Denise, It is what it is. In hindsight, I wish I had done things differently (gotten the sleeve in the first place) but hopefully this will all work out in the end and I can get back on track!

It has been a while since I have written, but it's been because I've been in a holding pattern waiting for my new insurance coverage to kick in. Fortunately, my band hasn't given me any issues besides some minor pulling feelings and twinges. I have had no sign of infection thus far thankfully. While I was waiting for the updated insurance, I gave a great deal of thought about who I wanted to do my surgeries. The doctor I had been going to for my band maintenance is a capable surgeon and a nice enough person, but I wasn't comfortable with his level of expertise in doing band to sleeve revisions. I did some research and found another surgeon here locally who has been doing sleeves for more than four years and has been doing band to sleeve revisions about once a month and is doing them on an increasingly frequent basis. In his words, a band to sleeve revision is not bariatric 101 surgery. It is more complicated due to scar tissues and adhesions from the band. I like his forthright attitude and his confidence, so I am waiting for a call next week to schedule the first surgery to remove the band. We will then wait three to six months and do the revision to the sleeve. He indicated that he will probably keep me overnight in the hospital for the band removal as he uses a stomach tube for drainage and that will need to be removed and he also wants to make sure there are no leaks. However, he also said that in all likelihood I can have the surgery on Friday and be back to work the following Monday as long as I have a sedentary job which I do. I am ready to get this process started. Let's do this thing!

Went for my upper endoscopy today. Band erosion confirmed. You can clearly see half the band on the inside of my stomach. Will be meeting with my surgeon soon to come up with a plan of action. Here's hoping my insurance will cover revision to the sleeve.

Spoke with the M.A. at my surgeon's office this afternoon. Asked the following questions and received the following answers. If anyone can suggest other questions I should ask when I meet my surgeon, I would appreciate it very much. 1. From your experience, are removals and revisions generally covered by employer insurance even if the original surgery was either self-pay or covered by another insurer? A. Removals are usually covered as they are considered a complication and medically necessary. Revisions depend on the coverage. 2. If they do cover the revision, do they typically require the mandatory six month weight loss program requirement? A. Insurance requirements are rapidly changing - hard to say at this time. 3. Pending the results of the endoscopy, would it be harmful to wait until my new benefits take effect at the beginning of the year before removing the band? A. Depends on the results of the endoscopy 4. Could the removal and revision be done at the same time? A. No. You need time to heal from the removal 5. How many removals and revisions has my surgeon done? A. Quite a few (no numbers provided, will ask surgeon directly) 6. Generally, how long is the recovery for the removal and for the revision to the sleeve? A. Removal of the band, about the same length of time when having the original surgery. Revision depends on the patient. 7. Is the removal procedure inpatient or outpatient? A. Usually outpatient 8. Typically, how long is the hospital stay for the revision. A. Overnight 9. Is there a stomach tube with the revision? How long does it stay in? A. Sometimes. Depends on the patient. She informed me that she will contact my PCP in the morning to make sure they have all the information they require in order to make the referral for my endoscopy. They want that done ASAP. She also suggested that I speak with a rep from BCBS during open enrollment to discuss my specific situation and what actions I need to take to assist in getting approved for the revision. I know that everyone's situation is unique and everything I asked here may not apply to your situation, but I hope that my experience can help others in similar situations.

That tunafish could taste so unbelievably good and that I could get full on half a cup of it!!!!!!!!! I broke the rules by 12 hours and had my first food (mushy) tonight. My tastebuds were dancing!!!!!!!!!!! You would have thought I was eating steak! I did take my time and ate as slowly as I could for being famished LOL. I chewed chewed and chewed until it was completely pulverized, and then I would wait periodically to see how I felt before proceeding. I stopped at about a half a cup and I probably could have had more but I didn't want to push it especially my first meal. Tomorrow morning before we go on our charity ride I will have an egg, two if I can get it down. Again, I don't want to push it, especially right before going on a ride. I also had an NSV! We went by Open Road Leathers to look for some new chaps for me as my old ones (the ones I bought in November!) were getting way loose on me, especially around the legs. Now, you have to know that they don't size chaps like regular clothes. Don't know why but they run WAY small. So the chaps I got in November were 6X (ugh) despite the fact that I was actually 2X at the time. Well, today I got into 4X chaps!!! Two whole sizes! I purposely got them nice and tight so that I would be able to wear them for a while before having to get another pair when I lose more weight. I normally wouldn't even bother getting something like this until I have lost all my weight but I wear my chaps even during the summer as it keeps the engine heat from burning my legs. Oh! I took off the steri strips on the three small incisions today. They were starting to come off anyway and they were annoying me. One of them probably wasn't quite ready to come off but I just put Neosporin on it and covered it with a bandaid. It will be fine in a couple of days. The other two, my port and the big blob of cotton in my belly button are under waterproof tape and okay like they are. Dr. Cywes wanted them to stay on for two weeks. I'll see what those look like then. I did a lot of running around today, brushed down the pool, washed my motorcycle, did a load of laundry, emptied the dishwasher, pulled some weeds and stuff. So I am definitely feeling back to my normal self with the exception of some isolated and periodic soreness in the muscles where my port is. I'm very excited about eating real food again. I can't even begin to explain! I feel like my journey has really begun today. I am starting to eat like a bandster and lead the bandster way of life! :biggrin:

Hi Karen from another Karen! I don't think you will have much of a problem with the chewing issue. Just make sure that the meats you select are very tender cuts or ones that have been marinated well. You will probably have more difficulty with tough cuts of meat. Good luck!! Karen

Man Kelly, we can't give up now!!!!! We have done so well!!!!!! I know what you mean about giving into the carbs but we both know they are our addiction. Try to get refocused and remotivated. It will be so worth it!!!! I had to go out yesterday and buy new work clothes. It was wonderful to be able to get clothes from the regular misses department instead of the womens dept. I keep slacking off on working out too so we both need to get our butts in gear!!!!! Keep at it sweetie! We didn't work this hard for nothing!

Wow! Look at you!!! That's so great!!!!!!!!!! Dr. C wasn't as hard on me yesterday as I thought he would be. He cautioned me about substituting my addiction to food with other addictions (I've been drinking a lot lately hence my not losing as much weight as I should). He said he isn't concerned about my losing weight as he is about me toning my body and getting enough exercise. So that is my focus this month. I told him I was back on track and determined to get the weight loss rolling again so we will see how I do. He also gave me a good fill which should help a lot. I didn't get one last month as I was almost too tight but I was definitely ready for one this time around. Keep up the great work ladies!!!!!!! (and gentlemen if there are any out there!)

I am kind of dreading my appt with Dr. C today. I've been doing great until this last month. I didn't get a fill last month and he even threatened to do an unfill because I was getting stuck a lot. I was comfortable enough and asked him to leave me where I was. Since then however, I have gotten to where I can eat quite a bit and I get very hungry between meals. I've also been doing a LOT of socializing, especially drinking alcohol. Lots of empty calories. So, I have barely lost anything since my appt last month. I have recommitted myself and am going to ask for a fill today. I'm going back to less than 30 gms of carbs a day (I've also been sneaking in more of those) and hit the gym more often. I've basically been consuming like I probably would when I'm at maintenance instead of what I should be consuming while trying to lose, so I need to get back on the wagon and lose my remaining 24 lbs I need to get to goal. Another concern I've been having is hair loss. It has gotten really bad the past couple of months and I'm actually seeing thin spots where I can see my scalp. I'm going to talk to him about that today as well. Hope everyone else is continuing to do well!